The verdict in three sentences
A commodity trading house in Melbourne sells almost nothing through its website, yet its credibility is checked online by banks, counterparties, NGOs, regulators and recruits. For most houses in 2026, AEO/GEO deserves the larger share of a modest budget, because the questions that matter ('who owns them', 'do they have a sanctions policy', 'are they a responsible buyer') are now asked to AI assistants like ChatGPT, while SEO stays essential for brand and careers queries. Both are measured the same way: a dated record of answers to a fixed set of questions, next to Search Console and recruiting data.
Who forms an opinion of your house online?
A grain, wool, dairy or metals trader headquartered in Melbourne has five audiences and almost no product marketing. A relationship manager at a trade finance bank checks ownership and governance before a credit committee. A new counterparty in Southeast Asia checks you exist and are who you say you are. An NGO researching supply chains looks for your responsible sourcing commitments. A graduate from a Melbourne university compares you with other trading and agribusiness employers. A journalist checks your offices and leadership.
These people increasingly start with a question to an AI assistant rather than a search. Typical examples: 'Which agricultural commodity traders are headquartered in Melbourne?', 'Who owns this trading company now?', 'Does this trader publish a modern slavery statement?', 'What is it like to work as a junior trader in Melbourne?'. If the answer is out of date or silent, the opinion forms anyway.
Search and AI answers, side by side
| Question for the board | SEO | AEO/GEO |
|---|---|---|
| Which audience does it reach first? | candidates and anyone typing your name | banks, counterparties and NGOs asking open questions |
| What does it change? | which pages appear on your name and on careers queries | how assistants describe your ownership, offices and policies |
| Time to see an effect | 3 to 6 months on brand and careers queries | 2 to 6 months on descriptions, uncertain on being named in lists |
| Typical Melbourne budget (2026 ballpark) | AUD 3,000 to 8,000 a month, about USD 2,000 to 5,300 | audit AUD 4,000 to 12,000, about USD 2,600 to 7,900; follow-up AUD 2,500 to 7,000 a month, about USD 1,650 to 4,600 |
| What it depends on | your site's structure and content | your site plus annual reports, registers, press and industry bodies |
| Main risk | ranking pages that say little | outdated ownership or a missing policy repeated to every enquirer |
The ranges come from typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages in Australia, converted at roughly 0.66 USD per AUD (approximate). AEO/GEO is an emerging market: quotes vary and few agencies yet have long track records.
Choosing the emphasis for your situation
| Situation | Emphasis | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Recently spun off, renamed or sold | AEO/GEO first | assistants keep repeating the old owner or name for months |
| Long-established house with a stable name | SEO on careers and brand, light AEO/GEO check | descriptions are usually right; recruiting is the live need |
| Exposure to sanctions-sensitive routes or origins | AEO/GEO with compliance pages at the core | banks and counterparties ask directly about your controls |
| Responsible sourcing or ESG reporting already published | both, linking the report clearly | the report exists but is often invisible to search and AI answers |
| Budget under USD 2,000 a month | a quarterly answer record plus fixes to key pages | the cheapest gains come from correcting your own site |
| Expanding offices to Singapore or the Middle East | AEO/GEO in English across regions | the same questions get asked from several markets |
Whatever the emphasis, the site carries the facts: governance and ownership, offices with addresses, compliance statements (sanctions, KYC, anti-bribery), responsible sourcing and ESG reporting only as actually published, and a real careers section. Never publish volumes or counterparties you are not free to disclose; assistants repeat what they read. Where your entity must publish a modern slavery statement under Australian law, link it plainly; for anything regulatory, let counsel decide what is stated. This is not legal advice.
What gets measured, and how often
SEO is measured with Search Console (impressions and clicks on brand and careers queries), analytics and your applicant tracking data. AEO/GEO is measured with a fixed list of 20 to 30 questions your audiences actually ask, run at the same interval (monthly is common), each answer saved with its date. From that record come three numbers the board can follow: the share of answers that mention you, the share that describe you accurately (ownership, offices, policies) and the names cited alongside yours.
A diagnostic covers that baseline, the errors found, the public sources that appear to feed them, the gaps on your site and a costed split between SEO and AEO/GEO. It informs a decision; it does not promise that an assistant will name you.
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Illustrative example. 'Southgate Grain & Metals', 60 staff, head office in Melbourne and a desk in Singapore, has USD 40,000 a year for online visibility. A first answer record shows assistants still naming its former parent, sold two years ago, and never mentioning its sanctions policy, which is published but buried in a PDF.
Proposed split: 35% AEO/GEO (USD 14,000), 40% for rewriting governance, ownership and compliance pages (USD 16,000), 25% SEO for brand and careers (USD 10,000). On the careers side alone, if a recruitment agency fee is about 20% of an AUD 150,000 salary, that is AUD 30,000 or about USD 19,800 per hire (market assumption); avoiding two agency placements a year covers the whole budget.
FAQ
Does a trading house really need SEO?
Yes, on a narrow scope: your name, your leaders' names and careers queries. Those few dozen searches a month come from people about to lend, contract or join, so the pages they land on matter more than volume.
What does an AEO/GEO diagnostic cost in Melbourne?
As a 2026 ballpark, AUD 4,000 to 12,000 in typical agency quotes, about USD 2,600 to 7,900, depending on the number of questions, regions and languages. Kolonell works on quote after a first look at your answers.
How often should answers be recorded?
Monthly is a sensible rhythm for a set of 20 to 30 questions, with a quarterly summary for the board. Answers move, so one snapshot proves little.
Can we correct a wrong description directly?
Not by asking the assistant. You correct the public sources it relies on: your own pages first, then registers, annual reports and industry profiles. Expect 2 to 6 months before descriptions shift.
Should Singapore or Dubai desks change the plan?
They extend the question set to those markets, often 5 to 10 extra questions. Ownership and compliance pages stay global and in English.
Find out how AI assistants describe your firm. We record what banks, counterparties and candidates are told about your house today and show where SEO or AEO/GEO money will change it. Request a diagnostic quote: reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
